Dumile Feni began his career as a mural painter and apprentice in a foundry in Johannesburg in the 1960s before a self-imposed exile to London in 1968, due to threat of arrest, and his eventual move to New York City. Head (1981 ca.) presents a recurring motif in Feni’s work: focusing on the head of a male figure, the subject is characterised by an elongated face resting on a long neck. Composed with strong lines and a dedicated focus on the form of the face and head, the work is striking for its Brancusi-like balance of soft curves married with strong lines to delineate precisely rendered features. The forehead and cheekbones appear to also form the lines of a mask or armour of some sort, suggesting a reference to traditional headgear. Produced in bronze, the sculpture reads as a reference to traditional African wood carved masks and figures.
This is the first time the work of Dumile Feni is presented at Biennale Arte.
—Heba Elkayal
